Two members of a Perth-based crime syndicate who used a fake hospitality equipment business as a front for drug trafficking have been sentenced to prison.
The syndicate’s leader, 53, and his accomplice, 50, were sentenced in the Perth District Court on 5 September 2024, receiving 17 and 15 years, respectively, for their roles in a 2018 attempt to smuggle 21kg of methamphetamine into Australia.
The drugs, concealed in a commercial oven imported from Canada, were intercepted by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers in December 2018. The methamphetamine, worth an estimated $19 million, could have been sold as 210,000 street deals. The seizure followed a joint investigation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which led to the capture of an additional 278kg of drugs destined for Australia between 2019 and 2021.
The two men were found guilty in May 2024 after a 12-week trial. A third accomplice, a 52-year-old from Girrawheen, pleaded guilty in 2020 and was sentenced to over nine years in prison in 2021 for his role in the conspiracy.
The AFP investigation, which began in 2018, revealed that the syndicate leader travelled to Vietnam multiple times to meet with a “big boss” linked to a larger drug network.
The group later established a fake hospitality equipment business in Maddington, using the company as a cover for drug importation. Despite their efforts to conceal their operation through coded language and encrypted communications, the authorities tracked their activities.
On 15 January 2019, search warrants were executed at multiple properties, uncovering encrypted phones, cash, and other drug-related equipment. The business property had no legitimate operations, reinforcing suspicions it was a front.
AFP Assistant Commissioner David McLean praised the collaborative efforts of international law enforcement agencies, noting that the investigation’s success prevented significant quantities of drugs from reaching Australian streets. He emphasised the detrimental social and economic impact of methamphetamine, Australia’s second most consumed illicit drug.
The Koondoola man was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison, while the 50-year-old from Shelley will serve at least nine years. The Girrawheen man is already serving a nine-year sentence, with a non-parole period of almost seven years.
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